Monday, March 22, 2010

Why Statistics Annoy

Via Greenwald, here's a CNN poll that claims that 39% of America supports the health care bill while 59% oppose it. Strong numbers, right? That's what the Republicans are talking about when they're saying Democrats ignored Americans on this, right?

Well, not so much. See, 13% of Americans opposed the bill because it's not liberal enough. Which means that 52% of Americans - a majority - either want this bill or want a bill that went further than this bill. So when Republicans say Democrats didn't listen to Americans, it's bullshit - only 43% of Americans wanted to kill the bill because it went too far.

Like it or not, health care reform was one of the main things Democrats were elected to do, and a majority of Americans apparently still want it. Conservatives who are thinking of going all-in with this "OMG HEALTH CARE REFORM WILL DESTROY AMERICA" rhetoric might want to keep this fact in mind.

Also worth noting from the poll: when it comes to who they trust on health care, Obama beats Congressional GOP 51-39, and Dems win 45-39.

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